Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Resolving the global phylogeny of eukaryotes has proven to be challenging. Among the eukaryotic groups of uncertain phylogenetic position are jakobids, a group of bacterivorous flagellates that possess the most bacteria-like mitochondrial genomes known. Jakobids share several ultrastructural features with malawimonads and an assemblage of anaerobic protists (e.g., diplomonads and oxymonads). These lineages together with Euglenozoa and Heterolobosea have collectively been designated "excavates". However, published molecular phylogenies based on the sequences of nuclear rRNAs and up to six nucleus-encoded proteins do not provide convincing support for the monophyly of excavates, nor do they uncover their relationship to other major eukaryotic groups. Here, we report the first large-scale eukaryotic phylogeny, inferred from 143 nucleus-encoded proteins comprising 31,604 amino acid positions, that includes jakobids, malawimonads and cercozoans. We obtain compelling support for the monophyly of jakobids, Euglenozoa plus Heterolobosea (JEH group), and for the association of cercozoans with stramenopiles plus alveolates. Furthermore, we observe a sister-group relationship between the JEH group and malawimonads after removing fast-evolving species from the dataset. We discuss the implications of these results for the concept of "excavates" and for the elucidation of eukaryotic phylogeny in general.
Author(s): Rodriguez-Ezpeleta N, Brinkmann H, Burger G, Roger AJ, Gray MW, Philippe H, Lang BF
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Current Biology
Year: 2007
Volume: 17
Issue: 16
Pages: 1420-1425
ISSN (print): 0960-9822
ISSN (electronic): 1879-0445
Publisher: Cell Press
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.036
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.07.036
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
